The Little Ripley Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children thrive in this busy, vibrant nursery. They leave their parents with ease and eagerly greet staff and friends.

Children are emotionally secure. They build strong bonds with the kind, caring and attentive staff. Children benefit from the wealth of toys, resources and learning experiences on offer.

They thoroughly enjoy playing and exploring in the outdoor areas. Children develop strong physical skills. They build steps and tracks to balance across.

Small-muscles skills are strengthened as children use tools, hands and fingers to manipulate dough. Children persevere as they put small pegs into boards. Th...ey use a range of media including pencils, crayons, and paint to help develop the skills they will need for writing later.

Babies benefit from gentle, nurturing support. They are supported well to take first steps and utter first words. Staff consistently talk to babies, modelling language.

The youngest children happily join in singing and copying actions for favourite rhymes and songs. This helps to develop their physical and language skills. Older children develop creativity and imagination.

They spend some time role playing with their friends. Children make cups of tea and dinner for each other in the mud kitchen. Children rest, relax and take shelter from the sun as they chat companionably to their friends in the garden tunnel.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders, managers, and staff work hard together to provide good quality care and learning experiences for children. Staff have a good understanding about what children need to learn. They ensure that the educational programme in each age group is clearly sequenced and adapted to meet children's individual learning needs.

Staff know children well. They understand what children already know and can do and what they need to learn next. Staff plan an exciting and stimulating environment.

They implement planned and spontaneous activities to help children achieve their next steps in learning. As a result, children make good progress.The manager places a high priority on children developing strong communication and language skills.

On the whole, staff promote these skills well. Most staff are adept at asking questions to enhance older children's conversation and vocabulary. However, staff practice is inconsistent at times.

For example, some staff ask many closed questions or answer questions for children without giving them time to think and respond.Staff provide good support for children with additional needs. They work in close partnership with other professionals.

For example, they invite speech and language therapists into the nursery to help support children who have gaps in their communication and language development. Staff implement targeted plans to help close any gaps in learning.Parent partnerships are strong.

Staff share information with parents in a variety of ways to keep them informed. For example, they use online platforms, send emails and regular newsletters. Staff talk to parents each day and share communication books, which detail the youngest children's day.

Parents comment that their children enjoy coming and speak about the progress they have made.Staff support children to become independent. They encourage children to complete small tasks for themselves.

For example, children get tissues and wipe their own noses. They help to serve their own drinks and meals.Transition arrangements for children are good.

Staff spend time working with children and parents to help them prepare for the move to school. They attend meetings with school staff and invite teachers into the nursery to meet children.Staff help children develop a love of books from an early age.

For example, babies sit on staff member's laps, and they look at simple board books together. Older children sit in groups to listen to staff reading stories. Books are accessible in all rooms for children to choose freely.

This supports children's early literacy skills well.Overall, children behave well. They play cooperatively with their friends and take turns with toys and resources.

Most staff gently explain behavioural expectations to children. However, this approach is not consistent. On occasions, staff say, 'No thank you' or 'Don't', without explaining to children what is expected of them and why.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff understand their responsibilities to keep children safe. Risk assessment is effective and ensures that premises and environments for children are kept clean, safe and secure.

Staff are deployed effectively to meet children's needs and to keep them safe. The manager and staff know how to respond appropriately when concerns arise about the welfare of a child in their care. Staff know the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about adults working with children.

The manager ensures staff attend regular safeguarding and child protection training and have good opportunities to refresh their knowledge on a regular basis. Staff implement effective procedures when responding to any accidents children may have.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nincrease training and support for staff to develop more refined questioning techniques to extend children's language skills even further provide consistent support to help children learn how to behave well.